A Day's Intrigue
by Rasielle
Summary: Unfamiliarity. An uncomfortable concept, in Luna's eyes. Very dangerous, very unstable... and then again, appealing. Succumb once to the temptation, and you'd be lost forever so Luna rushes away, away, safely away from the lure. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: **All belongs to JKR, except for an interesting addition to Luna Lovegood's mystifying personality. 'Tis insightful.

**Forenote: **Now who doesn't like Luna Lovegood? A very appealing character, and I see many captivating ways to portray her; she is very three-dimensional, although in HBP I rather thought JKR went overboard with her cheery and overzealous attitude. Judging from what could be read in OotP, she's too different and unique to be so bubbly with no excuse – she's still human. So here is the fic: I don't care if you like it or not. Just read it. And, if you've heart, review.

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A Day's Intrigue 

_A glance into the life of Luna Lovegood._

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It was another day, a very typical day, one that Luna could predict bit by bit, step by step, word for word. And end up correct.

People often said it was best to live life to the fullest, but what if you had no choice but to leave everything to fate? Luna often pondered this. Stuck in Hogwarts, she could not make friends, could not be part of anything to make her life 'full'; everyone steered clear of her, thinking her too peculiar to hold a decent conversation.

Life was repetitive, and would be - at least, until she got out into the world and fought for justice and good and things like that. But for now, all she had was the familiarity of a mild day, the familiarity of reading and thinking of unreal and often unfamiliar things – creatures, stories, legends. Some were real, and some were not, but either way, all were familiar to her heart.

She didn't really have close friends, friends that occupied a reserved chunk of her heart.

In her world, there was her father, her dreams, and what fancies her mother had left her with. She was a strong girl, in mind and soul – strong enough to handle unfamiliarity, sometimes. Harry and his friends, for example, were a great irregularity in her peaceful life, and what she called an 'intrigue.' She handled that unfamiliarity grandly, and resumed her days as she had so many times before.

It was breakfast, and as Luna chose food for her meal she glanced swiftly at the Gryffindor table; there they were laughing: Ron and Hermione bickered but ended up chuckling embarrassedly, and Harry and Ginny held hands and joked. Unconsciously, Luna wondered at how happy a person could actually be with others. She hadn't felt as such in a long time; the D.A, though, brought good feelings. Happiness. Unfamiliar.

Luna opened up her latest issue of _The Quibbler_ and read carefully over a lengthy article: "Winged Jabbers Attack in France, Tourists Claim." She held back a gasp; Winged Jabbers were thought to be deadly, dragon-like monsters that spared no mercy. _How dreadful._

For a fleeting moment, Luna looked up and reached for her pumpkin juice, but caught the eye of a passing Slytherin, who was peering at the front of her magazine in unconcealed curiosity. There was nothing insulting or skeptical about his glance; only inquisitiveness. Luna frowned; most Slytherins jeered at the sight of her magazines – she had never met one that passed the opportunity.

When breakfast was over, Luna met Ginny Weasley on her way to Herbology, who was beaming and tucking a bit of her flaming red hair behind her left ear.

"Luna! How are you?" the girl exclaimed, as pretty as ever, with the sun revealing gold streaks in her red hair. Ginny had always been pretty, always been popular, always had everything easy; despite a rare twinge of jealousy, Luna felt at ease around her. _A friend_, she wondered vaguely.

"I am doing fine, Ginny. You?"

"Never been better. I haven't spoken to you in a while."

Luna smiled dreamily, but as a reflex, her hand darted to a pocket of her robes; in it, she felt the cold, familiar feel of the D.A. coin. She always had it with her; at first, she hoped for a revival of the club, but as the possibility fell further away, she gripped the token and held it only in unconscious habit. Familiarity. She liked the feeling of it.

"You've been busy," Luna replied, in her vague and quiet way. Ginny's grin widened, and she lifted her chin, letting her pale skin soak itself in sunlight.

"Yeah. Harry's quite the baby; requires a lot of time and energy," she laughed. Luna continued to smile pleasantly, and she nodded once. What did Ginny want her to say? Congratulations?

A chillier core somewhere under Luna's unfathomable, cool exterior quivered, made itself known. She had been hardened by her rather lonely childhood, deep down, although she hid it well. _Quite the actress,_ her daddy called her. It was hard to impress Luna, although she hid it skillfully. _He's right._

Ginny's merry brown eyes twinkled as she turned, walking away to the castle to go to Transfiguration; one of Luna's only friends, already leaving. How many times would this happen? A two-minute conversation every week, including falsely cheery smiles and cool replies that rarely held any meaning? It made having friends seem pointless.

Luna's broomstick earrings jangled as she walked, and a passing Slytherin girl snorted and pointed at them, cackling. Luna ignored them. Useless moments like these filled Luna's typical day, but she managed to blink in surprise as a Slytherin boy stepped up to her. He was sneering and ugly, and very unpleasant.

"Hey, Loony, how safe does a freak like you feel, walking alone and unwanted? Does the Mudblood brat always abandon you like that?" His Slytherin girlfriend hooted with laughter.

_Ugly. Worthless._ Luna upheld her cool, blank expression.

"Don't call her that."

"What? A Mudblood brat? I can call her worse things, you know. Want to hear?" He was too close now, too close for comfort. His rancid breath made Luna grimace, and she stepped back. Her wand, which had been tucked safely within her sleeve, slid out as she moved her hand, and he only sneered at the sight of it. Luna was not one to intimidate, but that was what made her dangerous.

"No, I don't think I do. Leave me alone."

"Oh, scared, are you? You Muggle-lover, freak, piece of scum - " he reached for his wand and began to wave it when a flash of red whipped it out of his grip. Another Slytherin boy, the one from the Great Hall, the staring one, stepped up, his face all a fury.

"What do you think you're doing, Edgar? She told you to leave her alone; are you deaf?"

"Damn, Byron, stay out of this, you Slytherin disgrace!"

The Slytherin who intercepted frowned and his face darkened significantly. "Edgar, you know well enough that none of you stupid airheads scare me. Leave the girl alone. She hasn't done anything to you. Go." His dark eyes hardened, freezing up like black ice chips.

Edgar leered, but Byron called "Accio wand!" and snatched Edgar's wand from the air. Rendered speechless, Edgar stared at his wand and reluctantly growled, stepping back slowly. But Luna noticed something; a glint of fear, perhaps, striking through Edgar's face. This Byron figure was obviously someone to fear, if he could get Edgar to back off so easily.

Byron tossed Edgar his wand, and Edgar and his girlfriend left, putting their heads together and cursing Loony Lovegood. That left Luna and Byron alone, out near the greenhouses, under the sun and bathing in it. An awkward situation indeed, and Luna seldom felt such unease.

"Thank you," she uttered, looking down at her feet. Why had Byron helped her like that? He was the first to do so in a very long time, and Luna was sure there was some inexplicable reason behind it. After all, everyone ridiculed her, avoided her. No one helped her.

Byron shrugged and was hiding his wand in the pocket of his robes. "No problem. It was an unfair fight, anyway."

Indignation – one of Luna's most sincere emotions – swept through her, and her gaze snapped up, politely demanding. "Unfair? I could have handled it just fine, thank you."

He raised his eyebrows and suddenly Luna could see what made him a bona fide Slytherin.

"He was crueler, bigger; he's done worse things. I doubt you could've come out 'fine', really."

_Arrogant._ Anger. A feeling almost forgotten, very unfamiliar. Teasing and taunting happened so often to her that she no longer felt angry about it. But it was different now. She had no patience for arrogance. _Arrogant._

"And I've handled people much worse than him. Do you think I can't take care of myself?" Her temper was building with her every breath.

"I never said that, did I? Merlin's beard, what sort of gratitude do good deeds get nowadays?" But the bell rang, and Luna found herself rushing to class, rushing away, hurrying and not looking back. He would forget her after this, and she him – just a day's intrigue, it seemed. Something to spice up her life, something that happened only every now and then.

But Luna liked it, if just a little, and that itself was an unsettling bit of unfamiliarity. Luna did not like unfamiliarity, and away she rushed from it; away, away, from what made her very uncomfortable. Strong enough to handle unfamiliarity, she knew, but frightened that one day the thrill of it would tempt her, draw her in, and consume her whole.

Unfamiliarity. A dangerous thing.

**Afterthoughts:**Not very well written; Merlin help me, I could've done so much better. But I'm tired, and I thought it'd be nice to write something insightful and appealing about Luna Lovegood, because she is one of the coolest characters _ever._ It was a tempting concept, to write about a sort of insecurity that could be found in people like Luna sometimes. Could be true, could be false – both ways, it's true for many people (including myself, betimes) and it makes for a good oneshot. Oh goodness and GRACE, I'm sleepy… the reason behind such a drowsy and slow-paced oneshot, perhaps:::passes out on keyboard:


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